- Nov 16, 2015
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hi guys
I have a 2&1/2 week old duckling who is unable to walk, sit or swim. I suspect his problems are injurys due to a difficult hatch and possibly a lack of oxygen during the hatch, or due to being left in the nest by the mother duck till when I found his egg it was frigid icicle cold.
Anyway he hatched with both legs sticking out behind him. Its not spraddle/splayed leg, though I treated him for that anyway. It seems more either his brain giving his legs the wrong message, or muscle spasms/contractions causing his legs to push out behind him, and the joints from his 'knee' (what looks like hip) downward wanting to bend in the opposite direction to usual.
When first hatched his legs went this way but it was easy to fold them to a more normal position (but as soon as I let go they went back to the abnormal position). Over the ffirst few days of life, it seemed that themstronger he got, the more strongly his legs resisted normal positioning.
He does not have any swelling, or reluctance to bearing weight. Strapping the legs to bring them into a more normal position has been possible, (i.e. i can move the legs into position without causing him ssignificant pain and strap them) but does t seem to have had any effect in chainging their position. It feels like his legs themselves, if xrayed, would appear normal, and it is more his muscles contracting or spasming them into this abnormal position.
Have also noticed when he swims that his legs will often go the opposite way than he is clearly intending. So possibly its neurological.
However unlike typical neuro ducks, he is fine from above the legs up, he is not wonky balance wise, and doesnt throw his head back like neuro injured ducks tend to. He does stick his wings out a little but at this age its impossible to tell if they are abnormal or not.
As well as treating for possible spraddle/splay leg, by taping the legs together, and taping shoes on his feet to correct curled toes (used same method in past with 100% success, but little to no change with this duckling), I have also supplimented b vitamins above that of a suitable diet, plus given him plenty of time outside to get vitamin D etc.
So I am now moving from trying to fix his legs, to looking at ways to manage his disability.
As well as the obvious priblem that he cannot walk or swim, he is starting to show signs of skin irritation in areas where the most weight is placed due to his condition, and mild initial feather loss/ swelling around the vent area whih I am pretty sure is from the fact he cant move away from faeces whenhe does them.
I have made him a little sling type thing that hooks to the ceiling and lifts him either just a little to change where the pressure points are, or lifts him higher to allow him to kinda push with his legs and move about a little. He also finds it much easier to eat in the sling as it lifts the front of him up to see his bowl etc.
I change his bedding many times daily, and fit inside his little sling outfit paper towels or toilet paper, with double sided tape, which work well as a kind of nappy.
But of course ducklings and ducks poo all the time.. I acually looked it up after my first four rescued ducklings... They go on average every 7-12 mins. So obviously no matter how diligent I am in changing his nappies and bedding, there are times, especially overnight, when he will be lying in his own waste. Whether he is in his wee sling, or not, seems to make no Difference in terms of irritation around the vent, if anything its bette inn the sling. And the slin is helping with the irritation around the legs
Does anyone know of any absorbant materials, cremes, dressings etc (please explain type, not brand, as in NZ where I live, any US or non NZ brand you mention is probably not available here, and I wont know what it contains, to look for a local alternative) that might help in either:
Absorbing fecal material so it does not irritate
Cremes etc to protect the skin against irritation
Secondly does anyone haev any experience with ducks with simila problems, using a wheelchair? I intend to try and make one, but would like to hear any stores of how well ducks could use them.
i have googled and searched these and other forums and have not found any ducks which obviously have the sa e problem. As above i am confident this is not a simple case of splayed leg/spraddle leg, nor niacin deficiency, or curled toes or any other common easily treated/diagnosed leg problem in ducks.
Both legs are equally affected and have been since hatch.
If anyone thinks they can help, I can post videos and photos etc to better show Millers condition, just post a reply if you want me to do that.
Otherwise if no one has encountered this, I will post in future my/Millers experiences with a wheelchair etc in case it helps someone else in future
I have a 2&1/2 week old duckling who is unable to walk, sit or swim. I suspect his problems are injurys due to a difficult hatch and possibly a lack of oxygen during the hatch, or due to being left in the nest by the mother duck till when I found his egg it was frigid icicle cold.
Anyway he hatched with both legs sticking out behind him. Its not spraddle/splayed leg, though I treated him for that anyway. It seems more either his brain giving his legs the wrong message, or muscle spasms/contractions causing his legs to push out behind him, and the joints from his 'knee' (what looks like hip) downward wanting to bend in the opposite direction to usual.
When first hatched his legs went this way but it was easy to fold them to a more normal position (but as soon as I let go they went back to the abnormal position). Over the ffirst few days of life, it seemed that themstronger he got, the more strongly his legs resisted normal positioning.
He does not have any swelling, or reluctance to bearing weight. Strapping the legs to bring them into a more normal position has been possible, (i.e. i can move the legs into position without causing him ssignificant pain and strap them) but does t seem to have had any effect in chainging their position. It feels like his legs themselves, if xrayed, would appear normal, and it is more his muscles contracting or spasming them into this abnormal position.
Have also noticed when he swims that his legs will often go the opposite way than he is clearly intending. So possibly its neurological.
However unlike typical neuro ducks, he is fine from above the legs up, he is not wonky balance wise, and doesnt throw his head back like neuro injured ducks tend to. He does stick his wings out a little but at this age its impossible to tell if they are abnormal or not.
As well as treating for possible spraddle/splay leg, by taping the legs together, and taping shoes on his feet to correct curled toes (used same method in past with 100% success, but little to no change with this duckling), I have also supplimented b vitamins above that of a suitable diet, plus given him plenty of time outside to get vitamin D etc.
So I am now moving from trying to fix his legs, to looking at ways to manage his disability.
As well as the obvious priblem that he cannot walk or swim, he is starting to show signs of skin irritation in areas where the most weight is placed due to his condition, and mild initial feather loss/ swelling around the vent area whih I am pretty sure is from the fact he cant move away from faeces whenhe does them.
I have made him a little sling type thing that hooks to the ceiling and lifts him either just a little to change where the pressure points are, or lifts him higher to allow him to kinda push with his legs and move about a little. He also finds it much easier to eat in the sling as it lifts the front of him up to see his bowl etc.
I change his bedding many times daily, and fit inside his little sling outfit paper towels or toilet paper, with double sided tape, which work well as a kind of nappy.
But of course ducklings and ducks poo all the time.. I acually looked it up after my first four rescued ducklings... They go on average every 7-12 mins. So obviously no matter how diligent I am in changing his nappies and bedding, there are times, especially overnight, when he will be lying in his own waste. Whether he is in his wee sling, or not, seems to make no Difference in terms of irritation around the vent, if anything its bette inn the sling. And the slin is helping with the irritation around the legs
Does anyone know of any absorbant materials, cremes, dressings etc (please explain type, not brand, as in NZ where I live, any US or non NZ brand you mention is probably not available here, and I wont know what it contains, to look for a local alternative) that might help in either:
Absorbing fecal material so it does not irritate
Cremes etc to protect the skin against irritation
Secondly does anyone haev any experience with ducks with simila problems, using a wheelchair? I intend to try and make one, but would like to hear any stores of how well ducks could use them.
i have googled and searched these and other forums and have not found any ducks which obviously have the sa e problem. As above i am confident this is not a simple case of splayed leg/spraddle leg, nor niacin deficiency, or curled toes or any other common easily treated/diagnosed leg problem in ducks.
Both legs are equally affected and have been since hatch.
If anyone thinks they can help, I can post videos and photos etc to better show Millers condition, just post a reply if you want me to do that.
Otherwise if no one has encountered this, I will post in future my/Millers experiences with a wheelchair etc in case it helps someone else in future
